6 steps that employers must follow to avoid penalties and how to submit the VAT return - 2024-02-20 06:35:44

AS OF December 31, 2023 they were registered 1 million 175 thousand 177 taxpayers in the income tax (ISR) regime for employees, according to SAT data.

The management of withholdings involves 6 steps that the employer must complete, such as projecting the taxable income of all employees for a fiscal year or proportionally from the beginning of the employment relationship in the corresponding year. Also update the increases or extraordinary remunerations of your workers, issue the withholding certificates and send the monthly annex to the SAT.

Additionally, settle the ISR in cases of termination of the employment relationship or for each annual work period and send the Annual Withholding Report to the SAT.

Auditor Mario Coyoy, Tax partner at the Deloitte firm and Coordinator of the Tax Commission of the Guatemalan Institute of Public Accountants (IGCPA), explains the steps to comply with these obligations:

Companies, as employers of workers, have the obligation to verify whether the calculation of ISR withholdings generated by employment income in a dependency relationship was updated in a timely manner, based on article 76 of Decree 10-2012 and its reforms.

This establishes that if for any circumstance the estimated annual amount of the worker’s income is modified, the employer, without the need for a declaration from the employee, must carry out a new calculation to update the withholding amount in subsequent months.

This includes modifications to the worker’s income during the year, such as salary increases, commission payments, productivity bonuses, overtime or others.

It warns that some employers do not update this information and when generating the annual employee withholding report, amounts arise pending declaration or payment to the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT).

If the contributions corresponding to the month of December have been reported without this update, inconveniences are generated for the employer, since they would have to ensure that the employee makes the payment of the pending amounts through form SAT-1431.

This is because although the employer has the obligation to serve as an ISR withholding agent, article 73 of the Regulations of the Tax Update Law (Governmental Agreement 213-2013) establishes that employees are obliged to make the payment directly to the SAT when their respective employers have not withheld them or when what was withheld amounts to an amount less than the tax determined, but the SAT imposes a penalty on the employer, since it has the status of withholding agent.

Coyoy explained that in addition, one of the requirements for deductions to be made in the ISR of companies, in this case employers, is that they have complied with the obligation to withhold and pay the tax when applicable. If you do not do so, you could be jeopardizing your ability to include salaries and wages paid as deductible expenses.

Employer sanctions

Tax penalties

Late payment of withholdings: Compensatory interest, fine of 100% of the omitted tax and fine for late payment of the declaration.
No present the annual withholding report: Q5 thousand on the first occasion and Q10 thousand on the second. If it is breached more than twice, a fine of Q10 thousand plus 1% of the income will be applied.
Not receiving or withholding taxes: Fine equivalent to the tax not withheld or received.
Do not extend the withholding certificate or do so out of time: Fine of Q1 thousand for each certificate, which may be the monthly salary payment receipt, if the ISR is included in the discounts, according to article 70 of the regulations.

(Articles 58, 91 and 94 paragraph 9, of decree 6-91 that contains the Tax Code).

Criminal sanctions

Crime of misappropriation of taxes: When the withholding agent (in this case the employer) does not transfer all or part of the taxes received or withheld to the SAT, after the established period has elapsed. Penalty for the person responsible for the crime: 1 to 6 years in prison and a fine equivalent to the appropriate tax.

(Article 358 “c”, Penal Code, decree 17-73).

Projection and settlement of employees’ ISR

The auditors Coyoy, from Deloitte and IGCPA, as well as Óscar Chile Monroy from the firm MGI Chile Monroy y Asociados, and the trainers from the SAT, explain separately the gross income and the exempt income in the regime of workers in a dependency relationship:

Gross income: Salaries, salaries, bonuses, commissions and bonuses. As well as travel expenses not subject to settlement and other remunerations.

Exempt income: Pensions received due to death or disability, payment of compensation for time served, remuneration to diplomats, consular agents and official representatives. Also representation expenses and verifiable travel expenses. As well as aguinaldo and bonus 14 (up to 100% of the ordinary monthly salary), pensions, retirements or montepío.

Deductions: In the projection of income for the withholding of the ISR, Q48 thousand of the vital minimum can be deducted without the need to present buyers; also the employee’s IGSS contributions, those of the Military Pension Institute and those paid to State institutions by social security and montepío regimes.

To calculate the ISR of employees, the SAT has a tool at this link.

At the end of the period, apart from those mentioned in the projection, the following can also be included as deductions: Up to Q12 thousand of Value Added Tax (VAT) paid by the worker on their purchases, for which a form must be submitted to the SAT. Non-endowment life insurance premiums (which have no refund). In addition, donations to the State, universities, cultural or scientific entities, non-profit associations and foundations, social assistance or service or churches with a maximum of 5% of gross income.

Deadlines

Companies should pay attention to the deadlines for the obligations related to these withholdings, recommends auditor Chile Monroy:

The employer must make a projection of income and deductions for each worker no later than January to define the amount to be withheld and begin applying it in the first month of the year.
After making the monthly withholding from the workers, the employer you have 10 business days of the following month to transfer the amount to the SAT.
It must not be forgotten that The last withholding made in December to employees must be reported and paid to the SAT within that period (This year it expires on January 16).
This withholding should now be on real salaries and wages and not on projections, as was done from January to November, to avoid setbacks or possible sanctions, the auditor recommends.

“Sometimes, the employer gets confused and believes that he has all of January and February to transfer the last withholding from the previous year (December), but it must be clear that this payment expires in the first 10 business days of the year following the withholding. ”.

Separately, in the regulations of the Tax Update Law contained in Government Agreement Number 213-2013, articles 71 and 79, it is established that other obligations, such as the annual report on employee withholdings and reconciliation, must be made and presented between the first two months of the year, no later than the last day of February.

The SAT confirmed that the deadline for employers to submit the liquidation and conciliation expires on February 29, 2024. The penalty for not presenting it on that date is Q5 thousand, according to article 94, paragraph 13, of the Tax Code (decree 6-91 of the Congress of the Republic). This is reduced by 85%, as long as the employer complies without having been required or supervised (according to article 94 “A” of the Tax Code), adds the entity.

Steps and procedures for the VAT return:

In the Virtual Agency, the salaried taxpayer can have access to the VAT-FEL Return system that automatically loads Online Electronic Invoices (FEL). The steps are:

Verify that you are a Virtual Agency user, be Registered in the Salaried Regime and be updated in the Digital RTU
Enter the IVA-FEL Form from the Virtual Agency by selecting the Service section and then the IVA-FEL Form
Enter the Tax Identification Number (NIT) of the Employer and the personal email address. The system will show you the totals of the tax documents that were issued to you with your NIT or CUI, such as the FEL and other documents.
After completing these steps, press the Submit Return option to send it.
The notification with Form SAT -1111 and proof of submission will be sent to the email address you entered in the previous steps. The latter must be delivered to the employer, who can also verify it in the SAT system.

Fuentes: auditor Mario Coyoy, Tax partner at the Deloitte firm and Coordinator of the Tax Commission of the Guatemalan Institute of Public Accountants (IGCPA); Óscar Chile Monroy of the firm MGI Chile Monroy y Asociados; Compilation of information on the website and in the SAT training workshop on SRI for employees and the Vesco Consultores website.

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